Environment

The story of acid rain from the 1970s is preserved in newspaper headlines, textbooks, and, it turns out, the soils of the northeastern United States. Forty years after humans first began tackling the problem, the impact of acid rain still lingers in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, according to a new study. But the research also shows the first signs of recovery.

A communitywide effort Saturday aims to get Top of Utah residents to clean out their medicine cabinets and toss any unused over-the-counter or prescription medications.

In partnership with law enforcement, numerous locations will be offered so the public can dispose of unused medicines.

The effort is part of National Drug Take-Back Day, sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Agency.

OGDEN — The ewe struggled for control as sheep farmer Bob King led her toward the shearing tarp. King tipped the dirty, off-white sheep back on her haunches, and suddenly her hoofed feet were splayed skyward.

Belly exposed, the Western white-faced sheep hung her head low, seemingly embarrassed, as children gathered to learn about the shearing technique and the renewable resource of wool.

Saturday was the annual Earth Day celebration at the Ogden Nature Center. Last year, more than 2,000 attended, and this year’s final count may beat that record.

Oil spills, water pollution, harmful pesticides: those are the types of contaminants that spurred environmental crusaders to initiate the first Earth Day in 1970.

Damage from industries, businesses and agriculture was noticeable, from thick sludge in landfills that bordered homes to unnatural plumes of green smoke that were emitted from spraying farms. As Earth Day approaches its 42nd anniversary, what's potentially the biggest threat to the environment is as difficult to rally behind as it is to predict.

HILL AIR FORCE BASE — With Hill Air Force Base the top candidate for the new F-35 fighter mission, the Air Force has released a document detailing how the jet will likely impact the Top of Utah.

The Air Force released its F-35 Operational Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Friday, which examines impacts the jet will have on noise, land use, air and water quality, and safety.

In July 2010, Hill was chosen as the Air Force’s preferred alternative for the location of the first two operational squadrons of the advanced F-35 stealth fighter.

SALT LAKE CITY -- National experts will meet April 21 at St. Mark's Cathedral, 231 E. 100 South, in downtown Salt Lake City, for an in-depth look at how poverty and the environment overlap.

According to a news release from the Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable, Kim Lawton of PBS' "Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly" will join the panel for an international webcast from the cathedral.

LOGAN — A Utah State University department head and professor has been chosen as president-elect of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture.

Sean Michael, who heads USU’s Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning department, was chosen at the 2012 CELA conference held at the University of Illinois. He will become CELA president at the 2013 conference in Austin, Texas.

Utah State will host the group’s 2015 conference.